BRIEFS

What the Argus Foundation is and what its goals are

Christine Robinson

Editors note: Christine Robinson, a regular Indicators columnist, is executive director of the Argus Foundation. We suggested she talk about the organization.

The Argus Foundation is a non-profit, membership-based think tank and government watchdog that was created in 1983. Its founders were concerned about an anti-business climate in government and wanted to make sure they had a pure, unified business voice, unfiltered by government but solution-oriented and collaborative. Argus was born out of the founders’ concern for future generations.

We have a diverse membership from dozens of industries. Our member companies include doctors, lawyers, architects, plumbers, an aeronautics firm, banks, a cybersecurity firm, CPAs, restaurants, farmers and a college. There are many more.

We seek to bring together business leaders from our many diverse industries and use their talents and expertise to facilitate communication and an exchange of ideas between the public and private sectors.

We care deeply about our community and our leaders care about where they live. We monitor our community and local government issues and take positions on only a handful of them. We come to the table with solutions and suggestions. We are careful to make sure we are not just complainers.

This is our mission statement: The Argus Foundation applies business leadership to identify, educate, advocate, and collaborate on solutions for important community issues that will enhance the quality of life, environment, and economic well-being of Sarasota County.

We keep a broad community perspective and are a part of creating the future. We search for solutions and try to understand the underlying nature of problems. We don’t expect quick fixes but believe in systematic change and that persistent attention, in time, will move us toward a better community.

Over the years, we have tackled critical issues that have led to increased awareness and have advocated for those who cannot advocate for themselves.

In the late 1990s and early 2000s, we led the way with a team of our local community foundations and the Sarasota Herald-Tribune to study our education system in the SchoolMatch study. According to a Herald-Tribune article written after the study was completed, the results were felt very quickly. Student attendance improved after it was identified as an issue and a focus on low-achieving students became an integral part of making the schools better.

My predecessor at Argus, Kerry Kirschner, was instrumental in alerting our cities, especially the city of Sarasota, to the ticking time bombs of unfunded pension liabilities. This has now become a major budget consideration every year in all municipalities that still have their own pension systems. The cities have begun to take steps to tackle this tough problem.

In 2012, Argus brought former Louisville mayor and former Kentucky Lt. Gov. Jerry Abramson to Sarasota County to talk about consolidation of government. This was the spark that led to the consolidation of 911 services with a county offer to each city to administer emergency dispatch for free. Not only did this save money for our cities but more importantly it reduced the likelihood of dropped calls and gained precious, life-saving seconds.

Argus advocated for secret meetings to be eliminated and for access to the School Board chambers. We now see a fully open discussion of school issues, recorded on video, allowing the decision-making process to be seen and heard as it happens.

The most recent issue we worked on was a proposal for a county Public Service Tax, which would have levied a 5 percent tax on electricity, water, propane and natural gas in unincorporated Sarasota County. This would have really hurt the one-third of our residents who are living on the financial edge and who are one disaster away from homelessness. This proposal came to a vote while some residents and businesses were without power because of Hurricane Irma. Many people did not even know a tax increase was being discussed.

Using guest opinion columns and social media, we alerted residents and business owners, who then were able to voice their concerns. After the tax was voted down, we did not claim a victory and drop the issue. We offered solutions to the county budget problems.

We are continuing to work on important issues affecting us on the county and city levels. We are working hard with our partners in the Coalition of Business Associations, such as the Greater Sarasota Chamber of Commerce, the Gulf Coast Builder’s Exchange, the Manatee-Sarasota Building Industry Association and many others to improve our community.

As we enter our 35th anniversary year in 2018, I am excited about our future and the possibilities ahead of us. We will remain a strong partner, advocate and watchdog, applying business leadership to important community issues.

Robinson, a Sarasota County commissioner from 2010 to 2016, can be contacted at christine@argusfoundation.org.